New model and some dramatic poses

What the post brought, Emily G, pastel drawing in altered sketchbook

It's always fun to draw a new model in Sudbury Life Drawing Group. Emily G is a performance artist who works mostly with children. I was on the side of the room with the light at my back, close to the model, so for once I could see really well. That didn't mean my drawings were better, though. Of the seven I made, these three were the best. Two ten-minute poses and the portrait which was about 25 mins. Emily has some large tattoos.  You can see one peeking over her shoulder.

10 minute pose, Emily G, charcoal on paper

Head back, Emily G, charcoal on paper

Poor Emily found almost immediately that her neck was hurting in this pose, so she tilted her head back further... rather than change the shapes, I left the head unfinished. 

I'm not sure when I made these  pastel drawings in my altered sketchbook, A Bold Venture, of Terry… it may have been the same day as what happened next.

A Shattering Blow, Terry, pastel drawing in altered sketchbook

Quenched Flames, pastel drawing in altered sketchbook

A Friend in Need, pastel drawing in altered sketchbook

The last time I drew Terry I began by covering my paper in vine charcoal and used the subtractive method of drawing to begin. As it turned out, that was a good warm-up for Terry's unusual scenario next...

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Terry had brought a big piece of plastic sheeting which he draped over himself. It forced even the most figurative of us to work more abstractly.

Marks, Tone and Monoprints

There's an essay in Alice Mumford's book: Colour From Coast to Coast, which talks about colour versus tone and the tension she has felt to deal with both in her work.  She explains that if you look into light you can see more depth of field but that you will not see colour in such intensity and if light is behind you, you will see the colour but the view will appear more flat. Bonnard painted from his drawings and they are effusive with colour even though he looked into the Southern light because he seperated form and colour by drawing tonally and painting the colour. In life drawing I tend to draw tonally. With monotype you can't help but combine line, light and tone. I've always said that I need to work in different media to say things differently.  alice mumford has helped me to name it.

Today I took my 'monotype kit' to life drawing.  We had a new model, had 5, 10, and a 25 minute pose. Last week I drew Erin.

Another new model!

5.5 x 10 "

A3

Another fabulous new model today!  Below some of the responses to Andrew Vass' drawing the space class last week.  He gave us short amounts of time and lots of rules. I had never drawn Blue clothed and that was different and fun!

A3

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small painting from new model

Every morning I get up and make a list of things I really hope I will do, but my discipline stops there.  I do things all day but if something takes my fancy, I will not stick to the list. Some kind of response to Monday's new model not been on my list but if the list said 'paint' 'draw' 'monotype', I might have read 'return to that model.' The thing that has been on my list since H and F have been back at uni has been colour studies and I haven't ticked it on one single day.   I don't think this is finished, yet, but I have enjoyed stroking colours of paint next to colours of paint in a pastel approach, maybe it counts as a colour study?